E85 Falls Short

We already know that ethanol is only part of the answer to the biofuel question.
BP, a major distributor of ethanol fuel products, is investing $500 million for research into the next generation of biofuels. BP has set up laboratories (The Energy Bio-Sciences Institute) at the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Illinois.

Selling more ethanol than anybody, BP it doesn't see ethanol as the answer to the alternative fuel question, and they don’t have any plans to make ethanol. At the same time, an increase in the number of ethanol plants in Iowa during the past six years has led to increased air, water and soil pollution, according to the Des Moines Register, June 2007.

Due to several factors, not limited to lower horsepower, and lower mileage, E85 has been slow to catch on among flex fuel vehicle drivers. The so-called cost benefits of ethanol, are based on government subsidies which do more for the farm lobby than the consumer.

The price of corn in July 2007 was at $4.19 a bushel, having increased more than 80 percent in the previous year. In February 2007, corn hit its highest price point in more than a decade at just over $4.50 a bushel.

It's not just corn that's more expensive, higher corn prices have been blamed for driving up food prices at the local grocery store. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices have risen nearly 4 percent in 2007 when compared to 2006.

Geothermal Electricity Production at California Geysers Facility

In October 2005, Los Angeles based US Renewables Group (“USRG”), acquired a controlling interest in the Bottle Rock Power Corporation. USRG develops, and operates renewable energy and clean fuel projects. Bottle Rock Power Corporation, a California company was purchased in order to control the 55 megawatt geothermal power station in the Geysers in Lake County, California. The plan was to have the station produce approximately 200,000 megawatt hours per year of base load renewable power within about 12 months. Achieving this goal would produce enough energy on average to supply electricity to about 25,000 California homes.
The Bottle Rock Power acquisition builds on USRG's growing renewable energy assets including negotiations for biomass power and ethanol assets, and two landfill methane facilities in California. In order to fund the acquisition and operation of renewable energy assets, USRG closed $80 million in financing as part of its plan to raise a total of $250 million USD.
The Bottle Rock Power Plant is located on the Francisco Lease, a 350 acre area on High Valley Road near the town of Cobb in Lake County, California. The 55-MegaWatt Geothermal Power Plant was certified by the Energy Commission certified in 1980, and the power plant began producing electricity for the State Water Project in early 1985.
In November 1990, DWR (California Department of Water Resources) suspended operation of the Bottle Rock project due to a drop in production from the Geysers and the plant was placed into stand-by status. At the time, ample power capacity in California was available, and the requirements to restore the facility to full production could not be economically justified.
The DWR subsequently sold the power station to Bottle Rock Power in 2001.

Bittersweet Biodiesel Surge

National Biodiesel Surge Creates Bittersweet Co-product with Glycerol

by Raphael Shay

A current surge of interest in biofuels is set to yield 1.37 Billion gallons within the next 18 months, according to the National Biodiesel Board. Currently 1.85 billion gallons of biodiesel are made in the US every year, in addition to a sizable amount of homemade biodiesel. This substantial increase in production has resulted in an overabundance of co-products, specifically glycerol. 'iCAST' is currently researching and discovering solutions to this problem.
Assuming the crude glycerin is 80% pure glycerin, Brett Hess from the University of Wyoming thinks that crude glycerol should sell at 89% of the price of cornstarch. This would give it a price of 1 to 2 cents per pound or 10 times current market value.

Crude glycerol is not a valuable product and currently sells for about 1 to 2 cents per gallon. For every 100 pounds of biodiesel produced, 10 pounds of glycerol is also created. Although it is possible to refine crude glycerin into a marketable product, it is a process that is beyond the reach of most small-scale producers due to the large investment in technology necessary for the refining process.

Finding a large-scale use for crude glycerin would help lighten the load of growing supplies and give the biodiesel industry more revenue. Not only is it essential to find economically viable refining process, it is also important for the environment.

CAST, the International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology, is helping farmers grow their own fuel. Part of this work has brought the company to research the uses and markets for biodiesel co-products.

Traditionally, glycerin has been used to produce nitro-glycerin and soap. But crude glycerin can also be burnt, composted or fed to ruminants. Research on turning glycerin into an alternative to antifreeze is also within grasp.

Burning glycerin for heat and power can render positive effects, however, temperature is a significant concern. Burning glycerin at temperatures between 200 and 300°C (392-572°F) emits toxic acrolein fumes so temperatures beyond 1,000°C (1832°F) are necessary.

As a sugar, glycerin can be a considerable addition to compost. This is a much simpler option. However, it is important to make sure the glycerin does not cut out oxygen and negatively affect pH, which harms the composting bacteria. Glycerin is also a liquid and therefore hard to contain. Since it can be harmful to ground and surface water, it is vital to prevent leakage.

In Northern Wyoming a glycerin storage tank has been connected to a farms irrigation system. Before crops emerge, a valve is opened to water down the glycerin and spread it onto the fields.

A third option is to feed the crude glycerin to ruminants. In actuality, there are no regulations that affect the use of glycerol as a feed additive. The overall consensus is that crude glycerol can comprise up to 15 percent of a ruminant animals diet and 15 percent of pelleted feed mix. Dairy cows are the exception where a study found the limit to be 1 to 5% with an improvement in energy balance when glycerol comprised 2% of their diet.

Assuming the crude glycerin is 80% pure glycerin, Brett Hess from the University of Wyoming thinks that crude glycerol should sell at 89% of the price of cornstarch. This would give it a price of 1 to 2 cents per pound or 10 times current market value. However in most cases, crude glycerin is 50 to 60% pure and thus should be discounted 33%.

The two other product options for glycerin, making hydrogen or propylene glycol, are still in the research phases. Since the process is complicated, when and if it becomes technologically mature, it will likely be done in centralized plants. This basically means small biodiesel producers will probably only need to invest in storage and sell their glycerin much like a lot of restaurants are selling their waste oil.

The other upcoming use for glycerin is propylene glycol. It can be used as a non-toxic anti-freeze, coolant, or deicer. Although petroleum based ethylene glycol is currently much cheaper, it remains a non-renewable resource that is highly toxic and as such is bound to lose popularity.

Propylene glycol is created by reacting glycerin with copper chromate, which sells for roughly fifty cents/gram. Full costs are currently unknown since this process is being perfected, which imperative given the current 47% efficiency in conversion.

Raphael Shay has worked on biodiesel in Canada, Denmark and the United-States. He is now the Outreach Coordinator at iCAST, where he bridges iCAST's projects with the people who need them most. iCAST is a Colorado based organization that facilitates renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that lead to community development.